Chapter 3

THE 1967 AND 1973 WARS

Security Council adopts resolution 242 (1967).

With the question of Palestine unresolved, an uneasy peace, punc-

tuated by violence and acts of force, was maintained in the region
from 1950 until 1967, when Israel came to occupy the entire area of
the former British Mandate of Palestine.

Establishment of UNEF I
Earlier, armed conflict had erupted in 1956, when, on 29
October, Israel began military operations against Egypt, joined
later by France and the United Kingdom. In a politically
charged atmosphere, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in July
of that year. The crisis ended with a ceasefire called for by the
General Assembly at an emergency special session, the eventual
withdrawal of the invading forces and the deployment of the

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 United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF I)—the first United
Nations peacekeeping force.
UNEF I was withdrawn in May 1967 at the request of Egypt,
which had informed the Secretary-General that it would no
longer consent to the stationing of the force on Egyptian terri-
tory and in Gaza. On 5 June 1967, hostilities broke out between
Israel and Egypt, Jordan and Syria. By the time a ceasefire called
for by the Security Council was accepted by the parties, Israel
had occupied the Egyptian Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank
including East Jerusalem and part of the Syrian Golan Heights.
After the ceasefire was secured, the Security Council adopted
resolution 237 (1967), in which it called upon Israel to ensure
the safety, welfare and security of the inhabitants of the areas
where military operations had taken place and to facilitate the
return of the displaced persons. The Governments concerned
were asked to respect scrupulously the humanitarian principles
governing the protection of civilian persons in time of war con-
tained in the Fourth Geneva Convention, of 1949. At its fifth
emergency special session, convened after the fighting began,
the General Assembly called upon Governments and interna-
tional organizations to extend emergency humanitarian assist-
ance to those affected by the war. The Assembly asked Israel to
rescind all measures already taken and to desist from taking fur -
ther action which would alter the status of Jerusalem.
Security Council resolution 242 (1967)
Later that year, on 22 November, the Security Council unani-
mously adopted, after much negotiation, resolution 242 (1967),
laying down principles for a peaceful settlement in the Middle
East. The resolution stipulated that the establishment of a just
and lasting peace should include the application of two principles:
✹ Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied
in the recent conflict; and
✹ Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and
respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territo-
8 19
rial integrity and political independence of every State in
the area and their right to live in peace within secure and
recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.
The resolution also affirmed the territorial inviolability of
every State in the region and called for “achieving a just settle-
ment of the refugee problem”.
Egypt and Jordan accepted resolution 242 (1967) and con-
sidered Israeli withdrawal from all territories occupied in the
1967 war as a precondition to negotiations. Israel, which also
accepted the resolution, stated that the questions of withdrawal
and refugees could be settled only through direct negotiations
with the Arab States and the conclusion of a comprehensive
peace treaty. Syria rejected the Council action, maintaining
that the resolution had linked the central issue of Israeli with-
drawal to concessions demanded from Arab countries. The
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) strongly criticized the
resolution, which it said reduced the question of Palestine to a
refugee problem.
War of 1973 and Security Council resolution 338 (1973)
In October 1973, war broke out again between Egypt and Israel
in the Suez Canal area and the Sinai and between Israel and the
Syrian Arab Republic on the Golan Heights. As fighting
reached a critical stage, the Soviet Union and the United States
jointly requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council. On
22 October, the Security Council adopted resolution 338
(1973), which reaffirmed the principles of resolution 242 and
called for negotiations aimed at “a just and durable peace in the
Middle East”. The ceasefire call was later confirmed in resolu-
tion 339 (1973) of 23 October, and the Secretary-General was
requested to dispatch United Nations observers immediately.
However, as fighting continued in the region, President
Anwar el Sadat of Egypt appealed directly to the Soviet Union
and the United States to intervene with troops and enforce the
ceasefire. While the Soviet Union agreed, the United States
 opposed the request, putting the two super Powers on a collision
course. At the request of Egypt, the Security Council recon-
vened on 24 October, where a resolution calling for the creation
of a new peacekeeping force, which became the second United
Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II), was worked out. After
Egypt and Israel agreed to disengage their forces, UNEF II super-
vised their redeployment. Under a separate agreement reached
in May 1974, Israel and Syria signed a disengagement agree-
ment. This led to the establishment of the United Nations
Disengagement Force (UNDOF), which was assigned to moni-
tor the agreements between Israel and Syria. The Council
renewed UNEF’s mandate periodically until July 1979, when it
was allowed to lapse following the conclusion of a peace treaty
between Egypt and Israel. UNDOF continues to function on the
Golan Heights.

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 ✒ UN facts
Security Council resolutions 242 and 338
Security Council resolution 242, adopted on 22 November 1967,
and resolution 338, adopted on 22 October 1973, are considered
basic instruments in all subsequent discussions of a Middle East
peace settlement.
1) Security Council resolution 242 (1967) of
22 November 1967
The Security Council,
Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the
Middle East,
Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by
war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which
every State in the area can live in security,
Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of
the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commit-
ment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,
1. Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the
establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East
which should include the application of both the following
principles:
(i) Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occu-
pied in the recent conflict;
(ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and
respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, terri-
torial integrity and political independence of every State in
the area and their right to live in peace within secure and
recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;
2. Affirms further the necessity
(a) For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through inter-
national waterways in the area;
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(b) For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem;
(c) For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political
independence of every State in the area, through meas-
ures including the establishment of demilitarized zones;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to designate a Special Repre-
sentative to proceed to the Middle East to establish and
maintain contacts with the States concerned in order to pro-
mote agreement and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and
accepted settlement in accordance with the provisions and
principles in this resolution;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security
Council on the progress of the efforts of the Special
Representative as soon as possible.
Adopted unanimously at the 1382nd meeting.
2) Resolution 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973
The Security Council,
1. Calls upon all parties to the present fighting to cease all firing
and terminate all military activity immediately, no later than
12 hours after the moment of the adoption of this decision, in
the positions they now occupy;
2. Calls upon the parties concerned to start immediately after
the ceasefire the implementation of Security Council resolu-
tion 242 (1967) in all of its parts;
3. Decides that, immediately and concurrently with the cease-
fire, negotiations shall start between the parties concerned
under appropriate auspices aimed at establishing a just and
durable peace in the Middle East.
Adopted at the 1747th meeting by 14 votes to none.1
1
One member (China) did not participate in the voting.